Reply #11: What do you expect, Exxon owns most of the "Stripper" wells in the US

[happyslug]

85% of all wells in the US are "Stripper Wells", One out of every six barrels of Oil produced in the US is from a "Stripper well". I have heard these referred to a "Seepper wells" but that appears to be an incorrect term, which I have even used in the past on DU.

A "Stripper well" is a well that is producing "10 barrels of oil a day or less".
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/oilgas/marginalwells/

A "Stripper Well" is an old well, long past its prime. You get oil out of it, but slowly, as low as a barrel a month (or lower). The owners of such wells send a truck to the pump, operate it for a few hours, till it run dry, then cap it again till it is time to pump that well again. Between pumps the remaining oil in the well "seeps" to the well head. Water is pumped into other well heads (Oil will float on top of Water) so the water pushes to oil to the well head. Over time enough oil reaches the well head to justify pumping the well.

Operating costs of these wells are cheap, they were drilled decades ago. The pipe may be rusty, but is still strong enough to withstand the little stress put on it by the little pumping from the well that is done. These exist all over Western Pennsylvania, You can go months without seeing them in operation, then they work for a few hours, then not used for months afterward. The same with various wells in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and other oil producing states. These are cheap wells to operate and the oil can be sold for whatever the market will bare.

More on "Stripper wells":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stripper_well
http://www.energy.psu.edu/swc/